Effects of Supplementation with Graded Levels of Concentrate Mix of Oats Grain and Lentil Screening on Feed Utilization and Live Weight Gain of Menz Sheep Fed Hay

Abstract

The effect of supplementation with graded levels of concentrate mix of Oats grain and Lentil screening in the Menz sheep fed hay was investigated at Debre Berhan Research Center. For this experiment twenty four yearling sheep with the initial body weight of 17.13 ± 1.2 kg (mean± SD) were selected from the surrounding market and randomly assigned to one of the four treatments. Treatment 1 (T1; Control) constituted hay alone, while treatments 2, 3 and 4 constituted hay  with supplemented graded levels of concentrate mix of oats grain and lentil screening at a ratio of 3:1(150, 250 and 350 g DM), respectively. The highest mean daily BW gain (68.24±0.95) was recorded in T4, followed by T3 (47.68±0.95) and T2 (29.9±0.95g/d). Sheep in T3 and T4 (P<0.001) gained significantly higher (P<0.001) weight per day than sheep consumed T2 ration. Among the supplemented groups, T4 has higher (P<0.001) FCE than the other groups. The observed higher FCE in supplemented groups might be due to the higher CP and energy contents of supplements in providing absorbed nutrient.

Keywords: oat grain; lentil screening; feed intake and body weight gain